


The Progeny

by articulatelyComposed



Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Multi, Post-Ascension, Temporary Character Death, adoption au, big ol teal quadrant love triangle in the best way possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2020-09-27 17:45:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20411785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/articulatelyComposed/pseuds/articulatelyComposed
Summary: jO: You’re kind of our only option, Tyz. The cause is falling apart. Everyone’s either ascended or fucking dead, and honestly, you’re the only non-jade I’d ever really trust to not accidentally kill a grub. So, whaddya say?lA: ...lA: Alright, I’ll do it.Your name is Tyzias Entykk, and what the fuck did you just agree to?(Adoption AU where Tyzias and Stelsa raise baby Karkat.)





	1. Chapter 1

-incoming transmission from M-A Secure Network: jadedObstetriatic contacting listlessAdvocate-

jO: ▲has the fire been stoked?▼

lA: the flammmmes are getting larger as wwwwe speak

jO: ▲oh thank god it’s you. where the fuck have you been the last couple wipes?▼

lA: yeah, sorry about that, had to get a newwww burner husk. you have no idea howwww tight the security is on this ship

lA: doesnt help that wwwwere living ammmmongst the clowwwwns up here

jO: ▲ugh, i guess that’s the one good thing about still being down here. anyway, i’ve got some important shit to tell you▼

lA: oh no, wwwwho did wwwwe lose this timmmme?

jO: ▲it’s actually not bad news for once▼

jO: ▲he’s here▼

lA: holy shit! is he hatched?

jO: ▲yup, didn’t even see him in an egg, just appeared out of nowhere. he’s an angry little guy, tiny as all hell too▼

jO: ▲there’s just one problem. skylla backed out▼

lA: wwwwhat do you mmmmean she backed out?

jO: ▲she says the breeding facility she was placed on is swarming with drones, constantly. it’s too dangerous to send a specially bred lusus down to the planet. we’re gonna have to go with operation dolorosa▼

lA: okay, at least wwwwe have a backup. its not like its never been done before, hell, bronya raised grubs a fewwww timmmmes herself before she wwwwas shipped off

lA: are you gonna be able to handle himmmm on your owwwwn?

jO: ▲hahaha you think I can raise a fucking child? i might know how to not kill them but the progeny would become one fucked up kid▼

lA: then give himmmm to wwwwanshi or sommmmething?

jO: ▲i kinda can’t give him to a jade▼

jO: ▲ever since the new heiress appeared with no warning from the caverns, the condesce has been staring up our asses constantly. there’s barely any break in the surveillance, so i was wondering if maybe…▼

jO: ▲you could take him?▼

lA: dude wwwwhat the fuck?

jO: ▲i know what you’re thinking, but you and stelsa would be great lusii▼

lA: you wwwwant mmmme to rope stels into this too?

lA: nevermmmmind that, howwww the fuck wwwwould you get an illegal grub up here? immmm on the largest lawwww firmmmm slash detention center in the galaxy!

jO: ▲we can sneak him onto a cargo ship. mallek is working on rerouting one to you for next wipe. he’ll make sure to disable the internal cameras and everything.▼

lA: holy fuck daraya, howwww ammmm i going to keep the mmmmutant decendant of the mmmmost immmmportant revolutionary prophet safe up here? wwwwhy cant you just send himmmm to bronya?

jO: ▲do you really think they let us have any contact with the cloisters in space? they completely isolate us, it’s some fucking penitance thing for the dolorosa’s sins or whatever.▼

lA: wwwwhat about chixie?

jO: ▲sold to be some bulgelicker’s personal music slave▼

lA: polypa?

jO: ▲would you trust her with a newborn?▼

lA: right. mmmmarsti?

jO: ▲culled last perigee, remember?▼

lA: shit! howwww mmmmuch did i mmmmiss?

jO: ▲you’re kind of our only option, tyz. the cause is falling apart. everyone’s either ascended or fucking dead, and honestly, you’re the only non-jade I’d ever really trust to not accidentally kill a grub. so, whaddya say?▼

lA: ...

lA: alright, i’ll do it

Your name is Tyzias Entykk, and what the fuck did you just agree to? Your pusher pounds in your ears as you stumble your way back to your shared block. Upon ascension, you were lucky enough to be placed on the same assigned ship as your matesprit. Your top test scores landed the two of you on the coveted imperial central judicial ship, colloquially named “Space Alcatraz” (not like you’ve ever heard of an Alcatraz not in space). Right now though, you couldn’t be feeling less lucky. Of all the ships in the galaxy, Daraya had to be sending the Sufferer’s progeny to the one swarming with legislacerators and clowns and insurmountably cruel torture devices. On the way back from your favorite supply closet where you do your most illegal trollian chats, you pass the entrance to the jail half of the ship, a menacing honk reverberating down the hallway as some poor lowblood screams in terror. It’s a stark difference from the paperwork and coffee filled lives you and Stelsa lead on your side of the ship, the only time the two halves collide being when court is in session.

You stare at your block’s door handle, hands trembling. You never were able to fully sell Stelsa on the revolution. She’s begun to warm up to the idea, no longer ignoring its existence or your involvement, but she has made it explicitly clear that she is not comfortable taking any direct action. And you are about to ask her to perform the ultimate treasonous act. You reach forward and take a deep breath. You can do this.

Stelsa is sitting on the loungeplank, a book in one hand and a small weight in the other, just as you expected her to be. Stelsa jumps a little at the sound of your entry, barely taking her eyes off the page. She crows cheerily once she sees you walk through the door.

“Welcome home Zizi! How was your day at the office?”

You take another deep breath before slumping down next to her, hands wringing at a violent pace.

“So Stels,” you begin. “I have a question for you. What is your opinion on grubs?”

“I think they’re very cute, I quite enjoyed myself when you took me to see the caverns to visit your jade friend last sweep. Why do you ask?

“Just wondering.” You stare at a spot on the wall, across the room at the small, utilitarian kitchen the two of you never use. You question whether or not you even have room for a grub, the block is barely larger than a standard dorm. “If we ever got the chance to spend time with grubs again, would you be… interested?”

Stelsa looks at you, head tilted just slightly. “Are you asking me if I would like to go back to the caverns on our day off? I know you miss Daraya dearly, but I don’t know how that would be possible now that we’ve ascended. It’s a real shame, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to raise grubs like the jades do.”

There it is. Stelsa’s unnatural maternal instinct gives you the segue you so desperately need right now. One final breath before the question that could make or break the survival of the Sufferer’s descendant.

“What if I told you we could raise a grub. Together.”

A moment of silence.

“Zizi, what are you saying?” Stelsa’s confusion is tinted with a twinge of fear.

“I know you’ve never wanted any part of what I do with Daraya. I know you’re scared of what will happen to me if I keep researching revolutions and building underground networks.”

Stelsa’s eyes widen. “What does this have to do with a grub, dear?”

“I know you’ve been listening” you continue. “I know you’ve heard Daraya and I talk about the old revolutions and the birth of the Sufferer’s progeny. Well it wasn’t just talk. He’s here, he’s coming, and I’m going to raise him.”

Stelsa is speechless, her normally piercing voice reduced to nothing.

“Stels, you’re the love of my life, and the kindest person I know. Will you raise this grub with me?”

Stelsa gathers herself in an instant and practically rockets off the plank.

“I will do no such thing and neither will you! Think of all the hard work we put in to get where we are! I will not let you bring an infant grub into our block!”

You cross your legs and pick up your mug from where you set it earlier in the evening. You take a sip of the stale water while staring at your matesprit. A subtle power move but one nonetheless.

“You can’t change my mind on this, Stelsa. Are you in or not?”

“Tyzias Entykk, you will text Daraya this instant and tell her to reroute that grub!” Stelsa towers over you, hands on her hips, never clearer that she is a solid foot taller than you’ll ever be. You smirk a little.

“See Stels, you’d fit right in as a jadeblood. You’re trying to be my lusus right now!”

Stelsa falls a bit, realizing you won’t budge on this issue. Her initial anger turns to fear, then sadness. She opens her mouth, her voice a fraction of its standard volume.

“Zizi, you can’t do this. I can’t lose you after all this.”

Your confident demeanor breaks, and your stomach flips. The truth is, she lost you the moment you started your research sweeps ago. You were dead the second you devoted your life to changing the Alternian legal system. You take a breath, knowing what you need to do next.

“This is my decision, Stels. The progeny will be arriving on a cargo ship before the end of the perigee. I’m already dead, and I’ve been dead for a long time. The only decision you can make is if you’ll join me and we die together, or you stay where you are and live without me, because if you don’t help me raise that grub here, I’m hopping in that cargo ship and going with him.”

You knew you had to do this some day. One day the revolution would call, and Stelsa would have to make a choice. What you didn’t know was that Stelsa made up her mind about this ages ago. Every argument the two of you had over the sweeps was only postponing the inevitable, but now that the inevitable has come, it is time for Stelsa to swallow her fear.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

You’re taken aback. You never thought she would be willing to take this leap for you. The fear you had been knotting in your stomach for the past hour floods your system and you collapse into your matesprit’s arms.

“Thank you, Stelsa.”

* * *

The next several nights are nothing but plans. Between your shifts at the office and piles of paperwork, the two of you work night and day alongside Daraya to ensure the safe delivery of the grub. You set up Stelsa with the secure network and introduce her to your fellow rebels, where they welcome her with open arms and begin educating the two of you on grub care, stealth measures, and the best ways to cover up the unmistakable sound of a newborn’s cry.

On the day of the delivery, Stelsa remains in your block while you sneak out past curfew, too anxious to commit such a crime so soon. You grip her trembling hand before creaking open the door and tiptoeing down the hallway, horns covered and face obscured, so as to throw off any surveillance cameras Mallek may have missed in his attempt to remotely kill the security system. You make your way to the port bay to be greeted by a small cargo ship, mostly empty, barring one small padded cardboard box, quietly rocking back and forth. Box in hand, you rush back to the block and place your precious cargo between yourself and Stelsa.

You bend down and slowly lift the lid to the box, almost afraid of what you may find inside. The silence is broken by a quiet squeal, not from the grub, but from your matesprit, her eyes bright and wide, anxious gaze disappearing the second she sees him. Inside the crate amongst a half-eaten bag of food lies a small, neon red grub with enormous, shiny eyes staring up at the two of you from behind his wild bangs. Stelsa bends down and picks up the infant, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

“Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first attempt at writing a fic in 6-ish years (or at least one not connected to some sort of theatrical script) and what better way to return to the world of fanfiction than with a self-indulgent adoption story! 
> 
> Inspired by a conversation I had on the PGenPod discord.
> 
> Thank you to Chrissy (my creative partner in crime) for beta reading


	2. Chapter 2

“Stels, get my burner husk! I can’t remember how to do the thing with the fingers!”

Your name is Tyzias Entykk, and you are currently holding a very loud grub. A very loud illegal grub at that, and no amount of bouncing and rocking and spoonfeeding is doing anything to shut him up.

“Got it! What’s your password again, sweetie?”

“Our favorite thing to do in the bedroom.” Stelsa gives you That Look and types in the two numbers sitting between her and the rest of the rebellion. She scrolls through the conversation the two of you had with Daraya last wipe to find what you’re looking for.

“Take two fingers and place them at the nape of his neck” she shouts at you from across the block. You love Stelsa, but the two of you are trying to avoid a noise complaint right now, not add to your chances of one. “Press into his soft spot there and gently rub in circles.”

You do as your matesprit tells you, and the grub slowly collapses into a pile of sleeping mush. You barely have time to catch a breath of relief when a voice in your doorway makes you lose it all over again.

“I didn’t know grubs had an off button.” A familiar silky smooth sleaze greets you from your now open door. A sleaze you know can only belong to one Tagora Gorjek, the troll who you had the misfortune of being assigned your next door neighbor. Stelsa snatches the sleeping grub out of your hands and whisks him into the padded box that has been serving as his bed for the past few days.

“You saw nothing.” You’ve given Tagora this look many times before, each time he took a peek into your tome at the library, or when you would catch him reading your secure texts over your shoulder, but you can’t be sure that your glaring daggers at him will prevent him from turning you in this time. “How the fuck did you get in here anyway?”

“Stelsa gave me the spare key when we first moved in.” He swings a keyring nonchalantly in one hand while Stelsa laughs sheepishly, scuttling off to the respiteblock in the back, grub box in hand. “I thought I heard something off when your Friday morning ruckus sounded more like the brooding caverns than your usual violent coitus.”

“Listen Gorjek, I can explain-” you begin, but Tagora cuts you off and sets himself down on your loungeplank.

“No need. I’m sure this is important to your little rebellion. I mean, why else would you keep one of those… things around?” Tagora wipes his hand on his vest in disgust, as if he was the one holding the infant moments ago. You tense up at the mention of your revolutionary activities. “I’m not stupid, I’ve seen what you’ve snuck in to your presentations over the years. I’ve kept quiet up until now. There’d be no point in turning you into the regime at this point.”

You almost breathe a sigh of relief, but you remember who it is you’re talking to. Tagora may be trustworthy with a secret, but there is no way he’d keep one without getting something for himself out of it.

“However,” he starts. There it is. “I’m going to need a little something in return for all this generosity.”  


“Fuck off Gorjek, I’m not paying you to keep quiet.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that to you Tizzy.” Tagora’s saccharine tone fills the room as he begins to fiddle with the shade on your utilitarian lamp sitting next to the loungeplank. “God knows you’re gonna need the extra cash now that you have a third mouth to feed, and according to your choice in decor, you clearly don’t make enough between the two of you as it is. I was thinking more along the lines of you taking some of my extra paperwork. They give us so much around here, I barely have time to do my full skincare routine each morning.”

“Fine,” you concede. “As long as it’ll make you shut up. How much are you-” You’re cut off by a bump in the back and Stelsa comes rushing out with the progeny in her arms, just as fussy as before.

“Zizi, he woke up. Should I do the finger thing again?” You stand up and take the infant from your matesprit, her energetic bouncing not doing anything to calm him down.

“No, Daraya said if we do it more than once a day it could fuck up his brain.” You carry him over to the plank, not sure what to do. You know you’re doing the right thing caring for this grub, you know he’s foretold to be the one to save the troll race from its own self destruction, but you can’t help but think you’re already fucking this up beyond all recognition. While you lose yourself in your thoughts, you don’t notice the grub has calmed down and managed to wriggle out of your arms, now plodding across to the other side of the loungeplank. You snap out of your stupor at the sound of a shrill cry next to you.

“What the fuck is it doing! Get it off of me!” While you weren’t paying attention, the progeny had wrestled out of your arms and made his way over to Tagora, where he is now. Suckling on one of Tagora’s oversized gemstone rings, still attached to his hand. “Do you have any idea how many caegers that ruby cost?”

Stelsa is cackling in the corner as Tagora desperately tries to pry the now defiled ring from his finger.

“I will be back with your bill later. Good luck with my paperwork, Tyzias.” He storms out of the block, the slam of the door reverberating down the hallways of the imperial central office ship.

\-----

Tagora never was particularly loyal to the empire, that was more Tegiri’s thing. All the prostrating before the empress and pledging undying dedication to the Alternian government just bored him. If Tagora is loyal to anything, it is his lavish lifestyle, which is why you are a little bit worried. You’re sitting at the counter between the kitchen and loungeblock with an enormous stack of paper in front of you while Tagora sits on your loungeplank, staring and filing his nails with a smug expression. He might be neutral in his opinion of the empire, but you know that if this grub becomes more of a nuisance than an asset, he won’t hesitate to turn you in. The ring was just strike 1.

You’re used to this, though. You’re no stranger to doing others’ work for group projects to make sure you keep your grades up, it’s just that this time the grade is you and Stelsa’s safety, and the survival of the descendant of your most revered revolutionary leader. You sigh and flip to the next page of the contract you’re being forced to proofread. Stelsa bursts through the door, arms full of takeout bags.

“I didn’t know what the little guy would like to eat, so I just got some of everything.” Stelsa sets the bags down and starts filling your workspace with plastic containers. Tagora quirks an eyebrow at her.

“Little guy?” he asks, still filing his thumb to a sharp point.

“Of course! I can’t keep calling him ‘the progeny,’ it’s way too formal for a little guy like him!” Stelsa barely looks up from her bags. “By the way, what are you doing here Gor-gor? I thought you were just dropping off the paperwork for Zizi and leaving.”

“I need to make sure she does a good job. Can’t let her get away with getting grub spittle on my hard work, can we?”  


You throw your arms in the air, exasperated. “For the last time, Sore-gor, the grub is in his box. He’s not going anywhere near your shit.” You go back to the contract, crossing out a grossly incorrect reference to a law that was reversed sweeps ago. “Anyway Stels, you’re totally right, we gotta give him a name.”

“Hmm. What will the name of this young grub be?” Stelsa stares into space, finger pressed to her chin. “Now that I think about it, how did any of us get our names?”

You think back to the time Daraya snuck you into a jadeblood naming ceremony a few perigees ago. You had always been told that your lusus named you, but that’s only a partial truth. Once a grub is chosen by a lusus, the jades analyze the lusus’ sounds and assign a name based off that, so often times a grub with a sheep or goat lusus will have long vowels in their name, or if they get a lizard for a lusus, they might be named something with a lot of “s” sounds. This all goes out the window if the grub is from a caste with a very strong naming tradition such as yourself. As far back as your research goes, tealbloods have always had names featuring at least one “T,” and nobody can explain why.

This isn't particularly helpful for your grub though. With no lusus to make weird noises and only one other mutantblood in history, you’re not sure where to begin.

“Well what was his ancestor’s name? He’s clearly some important guy’s descendent.” Tagora looks at you, surprisingly interested in the topic at hand. You still aren’t sure if he should know about all this, he could still turn you in at the drop of a hat.

“The sufferer?” You think for a moment. “Well if the texts I’ve found are right, he went by Kankri Maryam, taking his troll lusus’ surname since he didn’t have a normal lusus.”

“Then just give him a name with a bunch of Ks and toss your last names at him. Call him, I don’t know, Kaykay Entykk-Sezyat.” Tagora seems to be trying to speed this whole naming process along. He isn’t here for the company, after all. Stelsa, conversely, is bouncing on the soles of her feet.

“That is so cute!” She crows. “I’ve never seen that whole smooshing the last names together thing before but I love it! I don’t know about Kaykay as a name though.”

“Same” you agree. “Feels more like a nickname than anything else. Like the kind of bullshit name someone who calls himself Gor-Gor would suggest.”

“Oh just perish” Tagora hisses. You roll your eyes and get back to his pile of paperwork while Stelsa takes out her own pad of paper and starts jotting down some ideas. By the time you’ve made it through the pile, Tagora is snoring on the loungeplank and Stelsa has filled three whole pages with crossed out name ideas.  


“I’ve got it!” She breaks the silence with a characteristic squeal. “What about Karkat? It’s cute, it’s got K’s like the other one’s name, and sounds kind of sharp and feisty, just like him!”

You look up from the table. “Karkat Entykk-Sezyat. I like it.”

“Great! Well now that we’ve got that done I better put this food away before it goes-” You both freeze and look at each other, horrified, before Stelsa bolts to the back room, in a panic. Tagora looks up at you, bleary eyed and with a shit-eating grin.

“You know, if you forget to feed little ‘Karkat’ as often as you forget to feed yourself, he’s gonna die before he pupates.”

You grab the stack of papers and plop them haphazardly in Tagora’s lap. “Here’s your busywork, Gorjek. Now get the fuck out of my hive”

“I’ll give him two weeks. He lives any longer than that and I’ll drop your charges.” The little weasel is still smirking as you push him out the door. You double bolt it and pray he left his key. You do not need any more of him tonight.

Stelsa comes out carrying the progeny. Karkat, you correct yourself, his name is Karkat. You like that. She sets him down on the counter and opens up the takeout containers, trying to see which one he gravitates to. When he refuses to move and just ends up sitting down and gnawing at his left front leg, Stelsa resorts to picking up pinches of grubloaf with her claws and tries to get them past his weird, rounded off teeth.  


You guess this is your life now, just you, Stelsa, and Karkat, all hiding from the government in this bizarre, weirdly domestic and out in the open way. Out of all of the ways to be a fugitive, you don’t think you would have chosen any other way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who subscribed or gave the first chapter kudos! I wasn't expecting this to get such good reception!
> 
> I sketched a rough image of the ship these three are living on. There's also an unseen 2nd floor with more apartments. The proportions are weird and everything is kind of off, but this is a basic idea of the living situation they're all in. 
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/YAcXXIt
> 
> Drawn at the request of Chrissy, cuz she wanted to know where Stelsa gets all the takeout from (answer: they have a little mall in the center of the ship bc there are highbloods who are used to certain luxuries living there)


	3. Chapter 3

-incoming transmission from M-A Secure Network: listlessAdvocate contacting jadedObstetriatic-

lA: ▲has the fire been stoked?▼

jO: the flames are getting larger as we speak

jO: ▲how’s the grub?▼

lA: still alive, and still louder than a fucking clowwwwn cult mmmmeeting. seriously dar, this thing’s gonna get us killed   


jO: ▲you’re doing the off button trick, right?▼

lA: every fucking day. the only thing that mmmmanages to shut himmmm up is sucking on poor sore-gors expensive jewwwwelry

jO: ▲▲▲gorjek knows about him?▼▼▼

lA: hes fine, dont wwwworry. tagoras wwwwarmmmming up to himmmm, he even brought over sommmme gifts for the little guy the other day

lA: no clue wwwwhat a grub is gonna do wwwwith a coffee mmmmaker but wwwwhatever i guess

jO: ▲...okay▼

jO: ▲anyway, it’s been about a perigee since he arrived, right? he should be entering his juvenile molt soon▼

lA: juvenile… mmmmolt? wwwwhat?

jO: ▲god i forget how little they teach you about your own life cycle in that fucking law school. you know how he’s a squishy little bug thing and you’re not? that’s how he becomes not▼

jO: ▲the progeny should go through his molt cycle within the next few days▼

lA: karkat

jO: ▲what?▼

lA: the progenys nammmme is karkat. karkat entykk-sezyat

jO: ▲oh my fucking god▼

jO: ▲you two are adorable▼

jO: ▲any room for a jonjet in that clusterfuck of names? you gotta give some love to your dear sweet abandoned moirail over here▼

lA: sorry dar, mmmmatesprites only for nowwww

jO: ▲but i’m practically raising him for you!▼

jO: ▲whatever, anyway back to the important shit▼

jO: ▲if you think karkat is a little bitch now just wait til he finishes molting▼

jO: ▲right now he’s no worse than a stray barkbeast but he’s gonna get much worse real fast▼

jO: ▲grubs are fine alone but trolls are social creatures. he’s gonna turn into an absolute monster if you and stelsa▼

jO: ▲and I guess tagora….▼

jO: ▲are the only trolls he ever sees▼

lA: wwwwhat ammmm i supposed to do about that?

lA: its not like i can take himmmm into the office wwwwith mmmme

lA: oh hi boss, got that paperwwwwork you wwwwanted right here. dont mmmmind the little guy over there, hes just the fucking illegal son of the biggest heretic in alternian history!

jO: ▲don’t take him out of your block! don’t worry, we figured this all out a while ago. karkat can make online friendships and that’ll keep him from going crazy▼

jO: ▲remember the guy who helped set up our secure servers?▼

lA: you mmmmean… mmmmallek?

jO: ▲no the other guy. they’re just under mallek’s name, the one who actually set them up is that mysterious guy without a username. or a text color▼

jO: ▲he says he knows who the progeny will be safest talking to▼

lA: wwwwhy do we trust this guy?

jO: ▲well, he did set up the servers for us and he knows our password system. if he wanted us dead he could have just sent us in for culling a sweep ago▼

jO: ▲he told us to get karkat connected with the troll tags “gallowsCallibrator” and “twinArmageddons” as soon as he’s old enough to type▼

lA: i still dont trust himmmm. wwwwhere is he getting this info? you sure hes not sommmme wwwwhackjob conspiracy theorist?

jO: ▲well it’s not like you have any better options. this kid is gonna need some online friendships and a sketchy guarantee of safety is better than nothing▼

lA: ok fine wwwwhatever. wwwwhen the fuck did you get so organized?

jO: ▲wouldnt’ve done it without your constant bitching at me to go out and try and fix shit▼

jO: ▲<>▼

lA: <>

\-----

You’ve fallen into quite a routine with Karkat around. Not that you weren’t already in a routine, but you never expected life with a grub to be so… normal. Yes, there are his violent screaming outbursts, but that’s nothing a two-karat sapphire and a spinal cord massage can’t fix. Most nights consist of locking him in his soundproof box while you and Stelsa go to work, returning midday to let him loose and feed him a snack, and spending your early mornings trading between grub duty and your normal leftover paperwork. Tagora stopped forcing you to do his work a couple days in, as his fondness for Karkat had grown too big to hide and there was no way he could trick you into thinking he’d turn the poor baby in for execution. Daraya is right, he’s no worse than a barkbeast.

That is, until you step through the door to see Stelsa frantically fanning something in the corner of the room. Your first thought is fire. Did Stelsa set dinner on fire? No, that wouldn’t make sense. Neither of you cook much at all, and when you do, you’re the one more likely to fuck something up like that. Your suspicions are confirmed when you see that the bright mass Stelsa is fanning isn’t a flame, if anything it’s… sticky?

“Oh Zizi thank god you’re home!” Stelsa cries at you. She looks like she’s on the verge of tears. “I came home to find Karkat curled up and crying in the cullinary block, oozing some sort of disgusting slime! Did he get into the spices and poison himself?”

You take a look at the scene in front of you. Karkat is right there, curled up under one of the cupboards. He’s covered in a sticky residue, wimpering and trying to curl up into as small a ball as possible. His cries aren’t like the angry outbursts you’ve gotten used to at this point, they sound more like the tiny whines of a half-drowned purrbeast. You think you know exactly what’s going on.

“He’s molting. Daraya was telling me about this the other night.” Stelsa breathes a sigh of relief before giving you an inquisitive look.

“I know I’ve heard of that before but I have no idea what actually goes on during the molting process. Did Daraya tell you anything about that?” You wince a little, knowing Stelsa’s not gonna like what she hears.

“From what she told me, it looks like his body’s gonna kind of… melt.” You feel your stomach churn as you say that, and you can tell Stelsa looks ill as well. “First he’ll ooze a hard shell to contain all the… mess, then he’ll turn into a bunch of goo and a severed head, and rematerialize into a normal troll with normal legs and shit in a couple wipes.”

You give the slimy, crying grub another look before picking him up with a pair of rarely used oven mitts. These are gonna have to go in the incinerator once you’re done with this.

“We should get him in his box now Stels, once his shell forms we can’t disturb him or he might not come back right.” Your stomach flips again. The two of you rush back to your respiteblock and you gingerly set Karkat down into his padded box. He won’t be needing this once he’s done molting anyway.

You and Stelsa watch as the gluey layer around your grub, around the most important living figure to your now shared cause, turns from transparent to translucent, and finally enveloping him in a hard, entirely opaque shell. The wimpers get quieter and quieter until finally, they stop.

For the first time in an entire perigee, you allow the full brunt of your exhaustion to fall on your shoulders. You practically collapse into a chair, and Stelsa does the same.

“You hear that, Zizi?” you look at your matesprit through bleary eyes.

“Hear what, Stels?”

She smiles drowsily at you. “I can’t remember the last time I could hear my own pusher beating like this. I can hear the creaks of the ship and the air in the vent. God I missed silence.”

You hum at Stelsa in agreement. Neither of you have had a moment to relax since before Daraya and the rest of your rebel network plopped your favorite cherry red noisemaker into your life. You love him dearly, you both do, but holy fuck you are tired. You even considered breaking open the coffee maker Tagora brought over, despite your aversion to the stuff, just to get yourself through the day.

You know this silence won’t last, but you’re gonna enjoy it while you have it. You don’t even bother getting into the recupracoon before the exhaustion claims you.

\-----

-incoming transmission from M-A Secure Network: listlessAdvocate contacting jadedObstetriatic-

jO: ▲has the fire been stoked?▼

jO: ▲you know what, fuck this. there’s no time for passwords right now and it doesnt even matter anyway▼

jO: ▲they got us tyz▼

jO: ▲drones are raiding the caverns. They got wanshi and they’re stepping on grubs left and right▼

jO: ▲i’m hiding in bronya’s old illegal nursery but i don’t know how long it’ll take for them to find me▼

jO: ▲i don’t know if i’m gonna make it out of this one alive▼

jO: ▲if you don’t hear from me again, just remember▼

-jadedObstetriatic’s palmhusk has exploded-


	4. Chapter 4

Your name is Stelsa Sezyat and you are the luckiest troll in the galaxy. Unlike the millions of trolls separated from their friends and quadrants after ascension, you got a safe, cushy auditerrorizing job right alongside your loving matesprit. You are also incredibly lucky because unlike most trolls your age, you have never experienced true loss. Sure, you’d come into the office some days back on Alternia and see an empty desk, but you’ve never had the misfortune of losing someone close to you.   
  
Your matesprit, however, is not so lucky. She has seen countless friends and fellow revolutionaries taken by the drones, and by now she’s learned to push it down and thin k about it as little as possible, but there’s one culling she just can’t ignore like that. A few evenings ago she got up early to check her secret text chat, excited to tell Daraya about Karkat’s molting process, and came back a shell. And she’s still a shell. It’s been three days and Tyzias, your fiercely determined and diligent matesprit, has barely left the apartment block, barely eaten, barely said a single word to you. You can’t bear to see her like this.   
  
There she is, sitting on the lounge plank as she has for the past three days, reading through old messages with a glazed look in her eye. You open the door cautiously, takeout box in arm.   
  
“Zizi, sweetie, I got us some grubloaf for dinner” you call out. “It’s not as good as your favorite place back home but it’s still pretty nice.”  
  
Tyzias lifts her head to look at you, eyes tired and more glazed over than usual. You know there must be a million things going on in her mind, but all she can muster is a defeated groan. You open the grubloaf and start dividing it up.   
  
“I talked to your boss today” you say. Tyzias shifts a little. “I tried to get him to give you an extra day of mourning but he says three is the max. They’re practically falling apart without you.”  
  
“They don’t need me for shit and you know that” she mumbles. “Those assholes don’t give a shit about their workers.”  
  
To tell the truth, you always thought your bosses showed a great deal of compassion giving anyone who loses a quadrantmate a whole three day mourning period. Your jobs may be inherently flawed but at least they take romance seriously around here. You swear Tyzias can read your mind or something, because she winces at your unending optimism.   
  
“Zizi, please try to get to the office tomorrow, promise?” You beg. “You aren’t immune to culling if they think you’re slacking off, and I need you. He needs you.” You gesture to your respiteblock closet, where a black box sits, housing a chitinous shell. A shell that holds your pupating child. Tyzias softens a bit at the mention of Karkat, but then looks on the verge of tears again.   
  
“What if we fail her?” She mumbles. You make your way over to the plank and put your arms over your matesprit. “She entrusted us with another life, and now we have nobody to tell us how to not fuck up. We don’t know what the hell were doing.”  
  
“I bet we could get Mallek to get us in touch with one of the ascended jades, right?” Tyzias shrinks away from you. You guess helpful advice isn’t what she’s looking for right now.   
  
“It doesn’t work like that Stels.” Tyzias shrugs you off her and stands up. She drags herself back to the respiteblock and shuts the door. God, you hope she gets better soon.   
  
Tyzias does end up making her way to the office next evening, of course. She may complain but she’s never been one to risk a culling. It doesn’t mean she’s visibly okay though. Every teal she passes gives her a nod of sympathy, nobody in the office would want to go through losing a moirail, but you can tell your coworkers are wishing she would be back to normal as well. You pass two familiar neophytes in the hall and overhear them muttering about how unproductive their last meeting was. You know very well those are the project partners Tyzias is always complaining about who constantly leave their extra work to her. Ah, Zizi, even after ascension she’s taking the reigns on every group project.  
  
But not now, of course. She leaves halfway through the day, claiming she’s off to the nourishment sector to get lunch, but you find her an hour later trying to compose herself in a supply closet. You can’t bear to see her like this. You need to send someone a strongly worded message.  
  
——-  
  
-incoming transmission from M-A secure network: perpetualProfessional contacting snakeBytes-  
  
pP: ARE YOU THE ONE IN CHARGE OF THIS THING?  
  
pP: HELLO?  
  
pP: OH RIGHT THERES A PASSWORD WHAT IS ZIZI ALWAYS TYPING INTO THESE THINGS?  
  
pP: HAS THE FIRE BEEN STOKED?  
  
sB: the flames = getting larger as we speak;  
  
sB: ...who = you?;  
  
pP: STELSA SEZYAT AUDITERRORIZER FOR THE IMPERIAL CENTRAL OFFICE  
  
sB: oh shit. this isnt what it looks like;  
  
pP: CALM DOWN IM PART OF THE NETWORK IM TYZIAS ENTYKKS MATESPRIT THE ONE TAKING CARE OF THE PROGENY  
  
pP: I GUESS I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE LEAD WITH THAT  
  
sB: yeah no shit youre making me think ive got ico officers on my ass. whats up?;  
  
pP: ARE YOU THE TROLL LEADING THE REBELLION?  
  
sB: me? nah I just run the servers;  
  
pP: SO WHOS IN CHARGE THEN?  
  
sB: nobody really, were all on equal footing around here;  
  
pP: THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF BULL, SOMEONES GOTTA BE LEADING THE ARMIES AND IVE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH WHOEVER THEY ARE!  
  
sB: youre overestimating what weve got going on here, after the last culling were down to less than 20 members;  
  
sB: we used to have leaders, but after tetrarch dammek disappeared (rip nasty lil deer boy) your matesprit was the one who insisted we kill the tetrarch system;  
  
sB: she was dammeks second in command. if you wanna talk to anyone about the movement tyzias = the closest thing to a leader we got;  
  
pP: WELL YOUR FEARLESS LEADER IS CRYING IN A BROOM CLOSET RIGHT NOW SO YOURE THE CLOSEST THING IVE GOT  
  
pP: HOW DID THE CAVERNS GET RAIDED? WHO TIPPED THE DRONES OFF ABOUT REBEL ACTIVITY IN THE CLOISTERS? WHAT KIND OF OPERATION ARE YOU RUNNING AROUND HERE THAT YOU LET YOUR MEMBERS GET KILLED LIKE THAT?  
  
sB: whoa calm down, we didnt do anything ok!;  
  
sB: shit like this happens sometimes! its just a risk we take doing this kind of work;  
  
sB: they probably just got a drone visit at the wrong time and everything went to shit;  
  
sB: its kind of an inevitable outcome;  
  
pP: WELL IF ITS NOT YOUR FAULT THEN WHOSE IS IT? WHO CAN I YELL AT FOR BREAKING MY MATESPRIT? SHE TRUSTED YOU GUYS WITH HER MOIRAIL AND YOU LET HER DOWN SO IT DEFINITELY SEEMS LIKE YOUR FAULT!  
  
sB: yell at the empire! be mad at the empire like the rest of us! you are part of the rebellion right?;  
  
pP: I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE ANYMORE  
  
pP: I USED TO THINK THE EMPIRE WAS THIS INFALLIBLE PERFECT THING AND THAT EVERYTHING THEY DID WAS FOR OUR OWN GOOD  
  
pP: AND ITS NOT LIKE I THINK THAT ANYMORE BUT I DONT KNOW IF CAN TRUST YOU GUYS EITHER  
  
pP: IM ONLY DOING THIS OPERATION DOLOROSA THING FOR ZIZIS SAKE BECAUSE WERE ALL GONNA DIE ANYWAY, WHY NOT MAKE OUR LIVES THAT MUCH SHORTER FOR THE SAKE OF SOME GOD DAMN MAGICAL GRUB!  
  
sB: wow seems like darayas death = taking a toll on you too;  
  
sB: you got a moirail around?  
  
pP: NO NEVER HAD ONE, I NEVER REALLY FELT LIKE I NEEDED ONE BEFORE  
  
sB: explains why you arent fully getting the pain tyzias is in either…;  
  
sB: listen shes gonna be back to normal eventually but you gotta remember;  
  
sB: the way youre feeling now, lost and confused and unsure where to direct your feelings;  
  
sB: thats how shes gonna feel for the rest of her life, or at least until shes ready to let someone else into her diamond;  
  
sB: darayas death was nobodys fault but were all gonna be hurting from it for a while, especially tyzias;  
  
sB: you just gotta be there for her and try your best not to stress her out, okay?;  
  
pP: RIGHT  
  
pP: THANKS MALLEK THIS ACTUALLY HELPED A LOT  
  
sB: anytime! though next time dont open with that auditerrorizer bit, the resistance doesnt need to know that shit;  
  
pP: SORRY ABOUT THAT  
  
sB: no problem! see ya later;  
  
sB: dont forget to stoke that fire;  
  
-snakeBytes is offline-  
  
pP: WHY DO YOU GUYS KEEP SAYING THAT?  
  
———  
  
And so life goes on. Days go by, wipes, nearly a perigee, and you and Tyzias fall back into a routine. The looming threat of death is far more present than it has ever been before, but both of you manage to shove it deep down. Tyzias never truly does regain her drive though. She still wakes up every morning, ready for a day of completing her paperwork along with everyone else’s, but you can tell she’s stepped back on her revolutionary activity. Before everything with Karkat had begun, she had been working on convincing her boss to give defense lawyers a try. You know she was planning on working on her proposal during Karkat’s molt, but she hasn’t touched it since the day Daraya’s final messages came through. Every time she tries to open the document, her eyes start to glaze over and she closes it immediately. You’d like to think her hesitancy is out of self preservation, but you can tell it’s more than that. More like a fear of failure, not for her own sake, but for the sake of the whole cause, for Daraya’s memory.  
  
The two of you are sitting in the culinary block after work, as usual, sharing a takeout box and looking over some extra paperwork. You’re waiting for Tagora to come over, the two of you had planned a spa day and you’re hoping to drag Tyzias into it too, god knows you all need it. Just as you’re taking a bite of your grub noodle stir fry, you hear a loud crunch, one that definitely didn’t come from inside your mouth. You both pause. The second you start to relax, you hear it again.  
  
“Is that what I think it is?” Tyzias asks. Your heart skips a beat.  
  
“I have no idea” you reply. The crunch gets louder and more pronounced. The two of you bolt from your seats, not caring that one of them tips over onto the ground in the commotion.  
  
You make your way to the respiteblock closet and turn on the light. The previously smooth red membrane over the black box now has a large hole punched into it. A hole with a waving fist sticking out of it. The two of you hover over the box with baited breath as the hole gets larger. A second fist emerges, then a tiny, fat foot. Eventually you see the emergence of a familiar round head with familiar tiny horns.   
  
Karkat finally fights his way out of the box, toppling it over and practically falling straight on his face, but he just gets right back up. Young trolls are resilient, Tyzias told you a while ago. At this point on Alternia, a young troll leaves their cocoon to find their lusus protecting their shell like an egg. As soon as they find their footing, the two then go off to find or make shelter. Of course, in this case your grub already has his shelter set, but that doesn’t stop Karkat from immediately climbing to his feet and toddling over to the two of you.  
  
As your child walks toward you, your arm extended like he’s a scared animal, beckoning him forth, the door creaks open. A familiar voice comes from the entry.  
  
“Stelsa, are you guys home?” Tagora calls out. “I got your favorite face mask shipped in from Crush, the shipping fees were enormous so you better fully enjoy this spa day!” He makes his way to the back where you and Tyzias are still crouching and drops his bag in shock once he sees the tiny gray body slowly waddling across the floor.  
  
“He’s out?” He asks.   
  
“He’s out.” Tyzias speaks with more certainty than she has in ages. Her extended arm reaches further until she can practically touch Karkat. He reaches out in turn and grasps on to her pointer finger, inviting Tyzias to come closer and scoop him up, holding him close to her chest. He opens his mouth, and you expect one of his classic shrill chirps or screaming fits, but all that comes out is a simple “aaa.” You suppose language does come second for trolls.  
  
“He’s out” she repeats, “and we’re gonna be okay.”


	5. Chapter 5

Your name is Tyzias Entykk and you have a child. Not a wiggly infant grub that clicks and screams and eats takeout noodles out of a barkbeast dish, but a walking, talking child who argues and throws tantrums and makes you want to shove your head through drywall. 

Yes, he talks, and yes, his first word was fuck. The first day your precious wriggler opened his mouth and made a coherent, albeit profane, word, Stelsa blamed it on you, but of course you know that’s not the case. You knew the Sufferer’s anger would be inherited by his progeny, but you didn’t think the inheritance would be so literal that his final word would become Karkat’s first. That was just the start of it though. Karkat began speaking only a few nights after pupating, and since then it’s been five perigees of non-stop loud. 

Each evening before going into work, you and Stelsa have to struggle within an inch of your lives to get Karkat into the closet, which has recently been fitted with soundproofing foam. The yelling has gotten so bad that the two of you have had to say you’re vacillating pitch to stave off any suspicions from neighbors. As much as you try to keep your late moirail out of your mind, you can’t help but remember the last conversation you had. Karkat is a social creature and these last few perigees have been as agonizing for him as they have for you. You need to get him online and fast. 

Every once in a while, Mallek sends the two of you a care package, disguised as a box from Troll Amazon. It’s where you got the soundproof foam for the closet, where every one of Karkat’s tiny outfits have come from, and last package, Mallek send him a brand new, completely untraceable husktop, complete with a cute little crab on the front where a caste symbol would normally be. It’s time to introduce your son to the rest of the universe. 

You come home one night to find Stelsa already at it, sitting at the culinary block table with Karkat at her lap. 

“And this letter is an I,” She coos. “You press it with your third finger, like this.”

“I know what an I is, dumbass!” Karkat shouts back. Stelsa grimaces and takes a deep breath.

“We don’t use language like that, remember?” She scolds. “It’s hurtful.”

You lean against the doorway and give your two favorite trolls a half grin. “What are you two dumbasses doing?” Stelsa gives you a look. 

“Zizi, not helpful. I’m trying to teach Karkat how to type but he keeps on resisting me!”

“Why do I gotta use the stupid ‘proper placement’?” He groans. “Why can’t I use the fingers I wanna use?”

You sit down next to the two of them. “Believe me, it’s much faster the right way. You’re gonna want to type as fast as possible when you start talking to other trolls online.”

“Other....what??”

You return Stelsa’s look from earlier. “You didn’t tell him why you’re teaching him this?”

“I forgot, okay? It’s hard to keep track of all this parenting stuff when there’s so much else to do! I’ve been distracted with the new set of clients I was assigned last night.”

“I’ll take over, Stels. You go organize your clients, or whatever you were planning on doing tonight.”

“Oh thank god.” She takes a breath. “I don’t know how you manage this on top of all your duties without breaking down.”

“I don’t sleep, remember?” You shout after her as she bolts out the door. You turn back to Karkat. 

“I know it’s been tough to live alone like we’ve been making you do, I’d go crazy if I was you too.” Karkat pouts at you and looks longingly at the door that he knows he can never walk through. “It’s not fair to you, but it’s for your own safety. We can give you the next best thing though. Honestly, this might be even better.”

Karkat scoffs at you. “Nothing would be better than leaving this stupid fucking room.”

You laugh. “It sucks out there. It’s just a bunch of stuffy legislacerators and smelly murder clowns on the other side of that door. Online you can meet people your own age. Here.”

You pull out a piece of paper with the two names Daraya gave you written on it. Karkat grabs it and squints 

“gallows...cabrater?”

“gallowsCalibrator. I can help you type it in when you’re ready to meet her.” You’ve always been amazed by Karkat’s literacy. Young trolls develop incredibly fast, you’ve always known that. Tirona was only a few sweeps old when she joined your schoolfeed. But watching it happen in real-time is kind of mind blowing. You’re grateful for the fact that he can get online fast, but wow, it’s impressive. 

“When?” Karkat looks up at you with starry eyes. 

“As soon as you learn how to type.” You give him a squeeze. “Now you have to promise me Karkat, once you’re online you can’t tell anyone about being up here, okay?”

The stars in Karkat’s eyes flash to flames in an instant. “Why not?” He shouts. “What if I wanna have people find me here so I don’t have to be stuck with you and mama Stels and uncle Gorgor for fucking ever!!”

You take a deep breath and close your eyes. You know what you have to do to make him understand. 

“I didn’t want to show you this until you were a little older because it’s pretty scary, but I think you need to hear it.”

You stand up and make your way to your room. Shoved in the back corner behind your shared recupracoon is a metal lock box, containing a few things you managed to sneak aboard the ICO ship: a hunk of your lusus’ fur, a handful of gifts Daraya gave you, a rusted iron pendant, and most importantly, your handwritten and heavily notated tome, bound in teal leather with loose pages sticking out every which way. You grab the book and the pendant before heading back to the culinary block. 

“You ready for a story Karkat?” You grab his hand and lead him over to the loungeplank. “Be warned, it doesn’t have a happy ending.”

“I’m not afraid of a dumb story. I’m not a wriggler.” Karkat gives you his most heroic face as he wriggles up next to you, expecting a storybook out of your revolutionary tome. 

You hold the rusted pendant up and let it swing in front of Karkat’s eyes. “You see this symbol here?” You ask. “This is the symbol of your ancestor. That means it’s your symbol as well.” You latch the pendant around Karkat’s neck. It was a relic you purchased in a back alley auction, the seller claimed it was taken off the neck of the famed Neophyte Redglare at her execution, but you never believed him. Whoever’s pendant it once was, it now belongs to your son. 

Karkat feels the pendant with wide eyes and holds it up to the button with your own symbol you keep pinned to your jacket. “You guys told me I didn’t have one” he says. 

You shake your head. “Stels told you that. She doesn’t know anything about the sufferer and she had no idea I had that pendant. Everyone has a symbol, and even if they aren’t born with one, they create one for themself”

You open the tome to the first tabbed section. Before your own handwritten notes sits a pair of beautifully illuminated, yellow-aged pages, containing the Signless’ final sermon, transcribed directly from the Disciple’s cave writings. 

“This is the story of how your ancestor started a fire that can’t be put out.”

———

You know young trolls love to imitate their ancestors. When Tegiri was young he insisted you all call him “The Swordman” and claimed he was carrying on some higher purpose. Daraya once told you about finding her cloistermate’s diary, containing all sorts of ancestor worship bullshit about some guy named “The Vampiric.” Hell, there was even a time where you looked up to your own ancestor, a successful and ruthless legislacerator titled “The Diligent,” a period of worship that quickly fell apart after you stumbled upon a handful of handwritten rebel documents stuffed in the back of a book sweeps ago.

However, you never guessed how much Karkat would love imitating his ancestor. He’s spent the past three days traipsing around the apartment block, shaking his little fist and shouting things like “You need to take a stand, get on your feet and make the land your own!” It’s absolutely adorable.

Stelsa finds it slightly less adorable. She knows so little about the Signless, still too afraid to learn too much at a time. She loves Karkat with her entire pusher, but you can tell all of this is making her a bit uncomfortable.

“Karkat sweetie!” She yells after him as he pulls an oversized grey t-shirt out of her drawers, attempting to wear it as a cape. “Put that back! I know you like to pretend, but you need to remember that you aren’t a revolutionary. You’re our little wriggler and you have your own clothes.”

“Nooo!” He shouts as Stelsa takes the shirt off of him. “I am the great prophet!”

“No you aren’t.” She replies. “You are Karkat, and Karkat needs to go to bed.”

“But Mama Tyz lets me do whatever I want!”

Stelsa gestures at you to come help. “I do not let you do whatever you want” you say. “I just think there’s no harm in pretending.” Stelsa sighs at you. Ugh, you hate seeing her this stressed. “But it is time for bed, so pretend time is over.”

Karkat continues to struggle and whine as the two of you wrestle Stelsa’s shirt out of his hands. He stops for a second when you hear a familiar latch at the front of the loungeblock, just enough time for Stelsa to wrestle the shirt free. Tagora steps through the front door, looking more haggard than his usual pristine self.

“Uncle Gorgor!” Karkat shouts as he wriggles free and races towards the door. “Did you know that, um, you don’t need to suffer from the rule of the empire?”

“That’s great Karkat.” Tagora gives your son a dismissive hair-ruffle before plopping himself on your loungeplank.

“Rough day?” Stelsa asks. She gingerly sits down next to him and sets her hand on his. He hasn’t picked up on it yet but over the past couple perigees Stelsa has developed an out of control pale crush on Tagora.

“Showmanship committee is the worst!” He whines. “We got a whole large shipload of new prisoners, set to be on trial within the next sweep or two, and we need to come up with three interesting trial ideas for each of them by Monday!”

You watch as Stelsa rubs circles into Tagora’s hand, slowly calming him down. “Did you at least get to see the prisoners?” She asks. “Are any of them interesting?”

“Barely any” he says. “It’s mostly just lowbloods who pissed off the wrong troll, they don’t even deserve a showy trial for that. There were a couple ones that might be fun though.”

“Like?” Stelsa prompts.

“There’s this one wild oliveblood accused of multiple highblood murders, a cerulean arrested for grubtube crimes, a tiny angry jadeblood wearing a ton of gaudy faux-punk jewelry, that’s about it though.”

“Wait!” You jump in. “What’s this about a jadeblood?”

Tagora scoffs in your general direction. “She’s the least interesting of those three. Don’t you want to hear more about the grubtube crimes?”

“No, I want to hear more about the jadeblood. What does she look like? Does she have a name?”

“She had these awful wristbands with fake grub horns on them, had soot smeared all over her eyes intentionally, and she went so far as to tear the sleeves of her prison uniform. It’s so clear she’s trying to look like a tough guy despite being shorter than me.” Tagora’s gotten animated now, his true conversational passion being shitting on the fashion senses of others.

Your pusher is beating louder and you’re getting more animated too. You step closer to Tagora. “And the name?”

Stelsa has stopped massaging Tagora’s hand, knowing where this could be going. “It’s something jade-typical, with a bunch of y’s and a’s. Daraya, that’s it!”

You get right in Tagora’s face and grab him by his ponytail, dragging his face up to yours. “And why didn’t you tell me my moirail was still fucking alive?”

Tagora is staring at you in shock. “I had no idea!” He sputters. He seems pretty freaked out, it’s not like you have much physical leverage over him, being a scrawny twig yourself, but he’s considerably shorter than you, and the fire in your eyes is something he’s never witnessed before. “I knew your moirail was a jade, I guess you told me her name, but I didn’t make the connection!”

You drop his ponytail. “Take me to her.”

“Wha-?”

“Take me to her” you growl through your teeth. 

“Zizi, this isn’t a good idea!” Stelsa says. “You’re not thinking clearly, and you can’t make plans when you’re like this”

“I’m texting Mallek to turn off the cameras on the path to the jail half. Once he’s done that, we’re leaving.” You rummage through a drawer and find a spare set of all-black clothes. It’ll be a bit hard to cover up Tagora’s wide horns but it’ll have to do. You toss the clothes at him. “Get changed, we leave the second Mallek gives us the okay.”

Tagora stares at the empty space left by you as you bolt back to your respite block to change yourself. The name repeats in your head. Daraya. Your moirail might still be alive.


	6. Chapter 6

Your name is Daraya Jonjet, and you shouldn’t be alive. It’s not like you’re not grateful that you’re still alive, but every moment of your life feels like the cruelest fucking joke. You should have died nearly half a sweep ago when the drones raided the caverns and shot a hole through your right hand, narrowly missing the rest of you. You should have died when a bunch of highblood guards beat you senseless at your first prison, always stopping while you were an inch away from losing your life. But no, your death was always meant to be something bigger. A spectacle, like going up in flames in a fiery explosion. Or, most likely at this point, a drawn out, fully televised, highly entertaining public trial and execution. You’ve learned some things about Alternian law practice from Tyzias, you know what’s coming

At the moment you’re just sitting in your cell, listening to the quiet sobs of a prisoner down the hall and counting down the hours to your inevitable doom. You’ve tried to rebel a bit, you tore the sleeves off your prison jumpsuit and you’re more feral purrbeast than troll now, hissing at any passing guards or prisoners, but what’s the point of all that spectacle? You’re gonna die anyway. You’ve done all you can to help the rebellion, it’s just your time now.

You’re convinced that time has come much sooner than anticipated when two figures in all black come around the corner. You guess this must be some sort of new psychological torture the clowns are sending around. A couple of chucklevoodoo shadows meant to freak out the unruly prisoners who won’t sleep through the day.

You’re less convinced they’re clown tricks when one of them bolts to your cell, presses its head against the bars, and hisses your name. You jump back and start growling, until the figure pulls down its mask. Your pusher skips a beat.

“Calm down Daraya, it’s just me.” Your moirail looks back at you, and you bolt towards her.

“Holy fuck, Tyzias! I never thought I’d see you again!” The two of you embrace as best you can through the bars of your cell. Tyzias chokes back a tear.

“I can’t believe you’re alive! I can’t believe you’re actually here! How did you survive?” She clings onto you as if you’ll disappear the second she lets go.

“I have no fucking clue,” you respond. “I’ve been through so many jails and almost died so many times. I think they’re planning something big for my execution but I have no idea what”

“I can answer that,” the second figure steps forward and peels off his mask. “Tagora Gorjek, legislacerator and showmanship specialist.”

He holds out his hand, as if he’s expecting a handshake. Tyzias quickly slaps it away and he draws back. “I was tasked to come up with an entertaining idea for your death. So far I think my best one is recreating the death of the famous heretic, Dolorosa Porrim Maryam, but that might be a little complicated, so we might just boil you alive in grub blood.”

“What the fuck Gorjek!” Tyzias whisper-screams at him. “What he meant to say, was those were his ideas before he found out who you were. Which he should have known in the first place.” She glowers at him.

“Well how was I supposed to know what your moirail was like?” He scoffs.

“Because I talk about her all the fucking time? Rebellious jade didn’t ring a few bells?”

Tagora stares her down. “Well you never told me your moirail had half a hand.”

Tyzias looks down at your right arm, which you’d been carefully trying to hide from her, and she freezes up. Where your three middle fingers should be sits a ball of knotted scar tissue, reminding you every single day of how badly you failed to protect the other rebel jades.

“Holy fucking shit, what have they done to you?” Tyzias takes a step back and looks you over, taking in every little bruise and scar the past half sweep of prison brutality has given you. You shrug and sigh.

“Just the normal brutal-ass treatment, I guess.” You look down, really wishing you didn’t have to make your moirail worry about you so much. Tyzias’ shock morphs into anger as she turns to Tagora.

“So not only did you not tell me my moirail was alive, but when I finally picked the information out of you, you forgot to mention the empire maimed her?”

“Well maybe I simply didn’t care enough to mention it.” Tagora starts playing with a perfectly manicured claw. He’s distracted enough that he doesn’t notice Tyzias reel back to smack him square on the face, the slap echoing through the halls of the prison. Holy fuck, while you were gone your moirail went and found herself a kismesis.

“Anyway,” Tyzias takes a breath to compose herself and turns back to you. “Your trial is set for a little over a sweep from now, but sore-gor here is gonna see if he can push that back.” Tagora glares at Tyzias.

“First of all, ow!” he says, hand pressed to his cheek. “But yes, I can try to do that. If the aesthetics aren’t perfect, especially for a big trial like yours, they might give us a few extra perigees.” 

Tyzias looks you in the eyes and grabs your good hand. “We’re going to get you out of this, Dar. I don’t care if we have to burn this fucking ship to the ground, I’m not gonna let you go on trial.”

She turns to Tagora and starts to pull away, but you grip harder. “Wait! Don’t leave me here now!” You plead. Tyzias shakes her head.

“Mallek can only keep the cameras down for so long, and it’s not like we can just break you out anyway. You just have to hold on a little longer.”

“Alright, whatever, leave me to rot while you hang out with your hate boyfriend or whatever.” You reply. “You’re coming back though, right?”

“Of course I am, just hold on a few- wait, hate boyfriend?” Tyzias looks at you, confused. “You know I don’t have a kismesis.”

You jerk your head towards Tagora, now fiddling with the hair over his eye to cover up the handprint-shaped mark on his face, seemingly blind to the fact that the tip of his horn is poking awkwardly through the fabric of his hoodie. Tyzias goes wide eyed and flushes bright teal.

“What the fuck Daraya! You know I can’t stand him! Or- I mean, not in that way,” She sputters. “Just shut the fuck up.”

“Whatever you say,” you grin. God, you missed her.

Tyzias pulls you in for one more hug before grabbing Tagora and absconding down the hallway. You watch as the two of them fade into the rest of the blackness around you.

Your life might not be as much of a fucking joke anymore. You’ve got something to live for now. And that makes it so much worse.

* * *

-incoming transmission from M-A secure network: carcinoGeneticist contacting gallowsCalibrator-

CG: HI

CG: ARE YOU GALLOWS CABRATER?

GC: WO4H

GC: WHO 4R3 YOU?

GC: 4LSO ITS C4LIBR4TOR, S1LV3RDORK

Your name is Karkat Entykk-Sezyat, and you’re trying to make a friend. You’ve never had a friend before, not a real one. You don’t know what to expect, all you know is you don’t want to fuck it up.

CG: I’M KARKAT

CG: MY MAMA TOLD ME TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOU SO THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING

CG: DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME?

GC: YOU C4N’T JUST GO UP TO SOM3ON3 AND 4SK TH3M TO B3 FR13NDS! TH4T’S W31RD

GC: 4LSO WH4T’S 4 M4M4?

CG: THAT’S THE SADDEST THING I’VE EVER HEARD

CG: A MAMA IS A BIG TROLL WHO FEEDS YOU AND TELLS YOU TO DO STUFF AND LOCKS YOU IN THE STUPID FUCKING BACK CLOSET WITH THE SQUISHY WALLS

CG: BUT ALSO WHO HUGS YOU AND TELLS YOU STORIES AND STUFF

GC: OHHH YOU M34N L1K3 4 LUSUS

GC: TH4T’S 4 W31RD TH1NG TO C4LL 4 LUSUS

GC: MY LUSUS T3LLS M3 STOR13S TOO. SH3 DO3S 1T 1N MY DR34MS B3C4US3 SH3 1SN’T BORN Y3T

CG: THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE

GC: Y34H W3LL 4 LOT OF TH1NGS DON’T M4K3 S3NS3

GC: 1’M T3R3Z1 BTW

Fuck yes, you got a name! You’re making this work, you just gotta not screw it up from here.

GC: WH4T’S W1TH YOUR T3XT COLOR? YOU T4ST3 L1K3 1RON N41LS 4ND P3NC1L L34D

GC: DO YOU NOT H4V3 4 BLOOD COLOR?

Uh oh. You were really hoping to avoid this. The one thing Mama Tyz told you you couldn’t tell anyone was your blood color. And that you live in space. And you probably weren’t supposed to tell anyone about your troll guardians either, oops. You try to think up an excuse as fast as you can.

CG: OF COURSE I HAVE A BLOOD COLOR. IT’S THE BEST BLOOD COLOR.

CG: I JUST DON’T WANT TO TELL IT TO YOU

GC: >:O 4R3 YOU 4 TYR14N BLOOD???

CG: A WHAT?

GC: YOU KNOW, L1K3 TH3 3MPR3SS. YOU S41D YOU H4D TH3 B3ST BLOOD COLOR

CG: EW NO! THE EMPRESS IS A KILLER! THE PROLETARIAT WILL RISE AGAIN

GC: PROL3- WH4T? WH4T DO3S TH4T 3V3N M3AN?

GG: I DON’T FUCKING KNOW, IT’S SOMETHING MY MAMA SAYS

GC: H4H4H4H4H4 YOU’R3 SO W31RD!

GC: 1 L1K3 YOU

Nailed it. You bounce a little in your seat. A real friend! Even if she’s lightyears away, you finally have someone to talk to.

GC: YOU KNOW WH4T? 1 TH1NK MY FR13ND K4N4Y4 WOULD L1K3 YOU TOO! YOU SHOULD T4LK TO H3R!

GC: H3R H4NDL3 IS GR1M4UX1L14TR1X

GC: W1THOUT TH3 NUMB3RS OF COURS3

Your heart stops in your chest. Another one? You start slowly typing the new name into the chat before remembering you should probably ask Mama Tyz if this new person is safe to talk to. You’ll meet this Kanaya troll later.

GC: 4NYW4Y 1’M GONN4 F1ND OUT YOUR BLOOD COLOR SOM3D4Y, L34DF4CE

CG: NO YOU WON’T

GC: W1LL YOU T3LL YOURS 1F I T3LL MIN3?

GC: 1’M 4 T34LBLOOD

CG: OH I KNOW TEALBLOODS! THEY NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT STUPID LAW STUFF!

GC: >:O YOU KNOW OLD3R T34LS? ON3S WHO’V3 4LR3ADY ST4RT3D STUDY1NG?

GC: 1 C4N’T W41T TO ST4RT! TH3 3MP1R3 S3NDS M3 BOOKS 1N 4 F3W P3RIG33S

GC: TOO B4D 1 L1V3 TOO F4R 4W4Y FROM TH3 C1TY TO DO R34L SCHOOLF33DING >:[

CG: DON’T BE SAD, IT’S ALL STUPID ANYWAY. JUST A BUNCH OF DUMBASS RULES AND BIG STACKS OF PAPER. UNCLE GORGOR SAYS IT MAKES HIS SKIN LOOK SAD.

GC: UNCL3 GORGOR? TH4T’S 4 W31RD NAME. 1 W4NN4 M33T H1M!

CG: WELL YOU CAN’T

GC: C4N YOU 4T L34ST T3LL M3 WH3R3 YOU L1V3? 1F W3 L1V3 CLOS3 W3 SHOULD M33T!

CG: NOPE! AND I PROMISE I AM VERY FAR AWAY

A pause. Terezi seems to be taking a little while to respond. Did you scare her off by being too secretive? You know you have to stay safe, but there wouldn’t be any harm in telling a kid your own age that you live in space, right? You’re about to start talking when you see that Terezi has started typing again.

GC: SORRY TH4T TOOK SO LONG, MY FR13ND R3ALLY W4NTS M3 TO ST4RT A RP W1TH H3R AND SH3 WON’T STOP BUGGING M3

CG: WHAT’S A RP?

GC: 1 C4N SHOW YOU >:]

GC: L4TER THOUGH, GOTTA GO

GC: 1LL M4K3 YOU T4LK SOM3D4Y MR MYST3RY!

-gallowsCalibrator is offline-

CG: BYE TEREZI

CG: (:B   
  
You don’t know what this feeling is. You don’t know how to explain it, but for the first time in your short life, the anger and frustration that’s always brewing inside of you has finally come to a standstill. You have a friend, and it feels fantastic.


	7. Chapter 7

-incoming transmission from M.A. secure network: lislessAdvocate has created group “Free Jonjet”-  
-perpetualProfessional has joined the conversation-  
-bettercallGorgor has joined the conversation-  
-snakeBytes has joined the conversation-

sB: alright what have we got here;  
sB: what’s the news on daraya? also who’s bg? do we trust him?;  
lA: tagora knowwwws the mmmmost about darayas situation so wwwwe kinda have no choice  
lA: also hes in too deep at this point to back dowwwwn  
lA: wwwwelcommmme to the revolution sore-gor   
bG: I never asked for this *_________  
bG: What’s stopping me from turning you in and taking the reward money for myself? *_________  
pP: YOU WOULDNT DO THAT TO US WOULD YOU?  
pP: BESIDES YOU LOVE LITTLE KARKAT TOO MUCH TO DO THAT   
bG: I guess you’ve convinced me. *_________  
sB: okay okay reassurances aside, what’s the news on daraya? is she alright?;  
lA: shes locked in an immmmperial prison, do you think shes alright?  
sB: i mean is she drastically wounded?;  
bG: She’s missing half her hand and has been repeatedly beaten by the clowns, but she’s still capable, if that’s what you’re asking. *_________  
sB: dood. now what’s the status on her trial?;  
bG: It won’t be for a good while. These things take time and careful planning, and if the committee votes on my ideas, which they will, it’ll take even more time. *_________  
pP: WHY ARE YOU SO SURE THEYLL VOTE FOR YOURS? NOT THAT THEY ARENT GOOD I JUST DONT KNOW IF WE SHOULD DEPEND ON THAT  
bG: Because Daraya isn’t only being charged for dissidence, she’s got charges for high treason against the empire and grand heresy as well. Jadeblood crimes are rare, but they’re taken extremely seriously. *_________  
bG: They’re going to expect her trial to be absolutely over the top grandiose. *_________   
bG: And nobody is more grandiose than me. *_________  
lA: okay, nowwww that youre done stroking your owwwwn bulge, wwwwhat should wwwwe do before the trial date hits? any ideas?  
pP: DONT LOOK AT ME IM JUST HERE SO I CAN STAY UP TO SPEED  
sB: there’s no way to break her out and hide her in your room, is there?;  
lA: god i wwwwish, the second they notice a prisoner mmmmissing theyre gonna do a full scale swwwweep of the place. wwwwe cant risk themmmm finding karkat because of that   
sB: what’s the absolute longest that her trial can be postponed?;  
bG: A sweep and a half, maybe two sweeps at most. I doubt they’re gonna kill her before it, but they won’t keep her here forever. *_________  
sB: you’re not gonna like this tyzias, but we might have to put Operation Endgame into play soon if we want her to make it;

Your name is Tyzias Entykk, and it looks like your carefully planned revolution is going to have to come a few sweeps earlier than you originally thought. You’ve been working towards a successful rebellion for sweeps now, and there’s been a few plans for revolution in your back pocket, but the one you, Mallek, and a handful of others settled on before your ascension was Operation Endgame. There’s a lot of mythology out there surrounding the predicted end of the Alternian empire, and even though most people chalk it up to superstition, you always looked into it as a possible way out, especially since it coincided with the predicted birth of the progeny. When Karkat was successfully discovered, that solidified this plan as the way to free the troll race.

You’ve been secretly making plans to flee the ICO since the second you were enlisted. Stelsa doesn’t even know about how extensively you have studied the plans of the ship, looking for the safest way out. If you could break Daraya out of jail tomorrow and take her and everyone else to freedom tomorrow, you’d do it immediately. It’s too soon though.

lA: not possible the timmmmelines dont line up, and karkat isnt ready yet  
pP: KARKAT ISNT READY FOR WHAT?  
sB: you haven’t told Stelsa yet?;  
lA: no i havent told her yet, its not the right timmmme  
pP: WHAT HAVENT YOU BEEN TELLING ME ZIZI?

Stelsa drops her phone and looks at you. The two of you and Tagora have been sitting around the culinary block table, viciously typing into Mallek’s secure chat, while Karkat lies on the loungeplank with his laptop, messaging his new friend. 

“Zizi, what haven’t you been telling me?” 

You sigh and drop your phone. You guess it’s time. 

“Stels, did you ever read that mythology stuff I gave you a few perigees ago?”

“I only had time to skim it. It was something about the end of the universe?”

“Yeah, something along those lines.” You try to think of the best way to word this. “Do you remember how one of the centering figures in that mythology is a small, angry redblooded boy?”

“Again, I didn’t really read it” she replies. “I’m assuming this is the Signless? What does this have to do with whatever Mallek is talking about?”

You shake your head. “Not the Signless. Karkat. Karkat is prophecied to bring forth the end of the universe, and we’re going with him.”

Stelsa’s breath catches a bit. “That’s just a myth though! Silly fairytales! Also hold on a minute, what do you mean, ‘going with him’?”

She’s starting to raise her voice, more so than usual. You can tell she’s not going to like this. “Once Karkat reaches about six sweeps, we’re going to take him off this ship, and go to Alternia to help him cause the end of our universe. I thought it was all just a myth too, until we actually saw Karkat emerge at the predicted time. This is all real, and it’s going to happen one way or another.”

Stelsa’s skin turns as ashen as a ghost. “No!” She blurts out. “I’m not doing that! Why didn’t you tell me this before, I never would have agreed to take care of him if I knew we’d be destroying our lives!”

“Our lives are gonna be destroyed anyway, we might as well try to do some good on the way out”

“I’ve worked too long and too hard to get where I am today! We’re supposed to be living comfortable, peaceful lives together up here! Why can’t you just be grateful that we’re all here together without trying to destroy everything for the ‘greater good’ for once?”

You’re starting to get irritated. You love Stelsa with all your heart, but sometimes she’s like talking to a brick wall. “You don’t get what I’m saying do you?” You ask. “If we stay up here, we are going to die. The universe is scheduled to expire in a little over five sweeps. Something’s gonna trigger that giant tentacle monster that the Condesce keeps and we are all going to perish. This is our ticket out.”

“This is crazy! You’re crazy!” Stelsa’s in hysterics now. “These conspiracy theories are driving me crazy!” 

“They’re not- where are you going?” Stelsa has left the table and is reaching for her running shoes.

“Out!” She yells, bolting out the door and slamming it shut. You want to go after her but collapse back into your seat in defeat. 

“She’ll be back, I’ll work her through it.” Tagora is still typing away across from you. “While you two were bickering away over there, I just made myself a potential new associate.”

You take a look at your phone. It looks like while you were away, Tagora had been doing his slimy Gor-gor act and was on the verge of convincing Mallek into a one-sided business partnership. 

“Mallek is actually a pretty alright guy. A bit of a sucker, but alright. Did you know he’s the kid that did Gal’s first tattoo?”

You give Tagora a look, sensing an ounce of admiration in his voice. “I thought you hated that tattoo. You wouldn’t shut the fuck up about it when he got it.”

“That was before we vascillated” Tagora says. “I mean, I still hate it, but it’s kind of cute. I miss that dork so much.”

You’re so lucky your post-ascension turned out the way it did. You’re so incredibly lucky you weren’t forcibly separated from your matesprit like Tagora was. Why can’t you just be happy with the near perfect hand you were dealt?

As you ruminate, you feel a tiny hand tug on your sleeve. Karkat is looking up at you, holding up his laptop.

“Mama Tyz, ‘Rezi keeps telling me to talk to this person, can I?” Karkat points to his screen, showing you a pesterhandle. You nod and pick up your phone, scrolling past Tagora’s obscene display of capitalism. 

lA: hey mmmmallek, can you check a pesterhandle for mmmme karkat wwwwants to mmmmake a newwww friend   
sB: sure thing, send it over;  
lA: grimAuxiliatrix  
sB: looks like she’s a jadeblood who lives outside the caverns, interesting;   
sB: oh whoa, you’re gonna want to see this; 

-snakeBytes sent a photo: KanayaMaryamProfile-

You nearly fall out of your seat. You’re greeted by a bright jade symbol, possibly the second most recognizable symbol in your rebellion. That shape accompanied with that name, Maryam, sends you reeling. You turn to Karkat and grab his free hand. 

“Karkat” you say, staring into his confused eyes. “Whatever you do, you need to befriend this girl. Whatever you did to become so close with your other friend, do it to her.”

Karkat gives you a grin and runs eagerly back to the couch. You start muttering to yourself. 

“Maybe if it’s safe I could meet her too! No, that’s ridiculous, she probably doesn’t even know about her ancestor. There’s no way she’d know who the Dolorosa was beyond being a famous heretic.” Tagora is starting at you, amused

“I’ve never seen you act like such a fangirl, Entykk” he chuckles. “You sound like Kalbur over there, going off about your ‘waifu’ the Dolorosa”

“Shut the fuck up, Sore-gor” you turn to him. “You know this shit is actually important. I’m allowed to get fucking excited for once.”

“Who says you can’t be an obnoxious fan over real and important figures?” Tagora gets up from the table and saunters up to you. “You’re just like little Tirona, fawning over her precious honorable tyranny.”

You scoff at him. “You’re one to talk, mr. ‘I worship the almighty caegar.’ You’re the filthiest fucking capitalist I’ve ever met”

Tagora gasps. “I am a serious businessman! And at least my work is productive.”

You’re right up in each other’s faces. “Call my revolution unproductive one more time-“

“Nobody cares that you’re play acting the Signless, ‘Tetrarch Entykk,’ I’m almost glad I joined your little rebellion so I can watch you be torn to pieces from the front lines.”

You grab him by the collar of his turtleneck, pulling him up to your level. He gives you an enormous, sharp grin and licks his immaculately glossed lips. Before you know it you’re on top of him. You don’t know what came over you, but suddenly all you want to do is tear his face apart with your teeth and sink your claws into his shoulderblades. You have a lot of pent up anger inside of you, and it’s all spilling out into the mouth of Tagora Gorjek. 

———

Your name is Karkat Entykk-Sezyat, and you are so confused. You know nothing about romance, your moms haven’t read you any love stories or anything like that, but watching one of them violently kiss your uncle gor-gor after a loud argument is...enrapturing. You may know nothing about romance, but you want to learn everything now. 


	8. Chapter 8

Your name is Tagora Gorjek, and you are very busy. As a junior legislacerator and key member of the ICO showmanship committee, your days are packed with paperwork, presentations, and generally presenting as the most outgoing and intelligent member of your team. It is exhausting. At the end of each night, you want nothing more than to run a hot bath, maybe call your matesprit or vent to your moirail a bit, and get a good night’s sleep. 

Tonight all you can think about as you walk down the hallway to your apartment block is that hot ablution trap filled with your favorite essential oils, but your plans are stopped once you open the door. Your moirail is lying on your couch, in the same place you left her when you went to work hours ago. Ever since the argument Stelsa had with Tyzias last night, she has been hiding in your apartment block. You’re not quite sure what to do about this, you’re not used to being the receiving end in this relatively new moirailegiance.

“You’re still here?” You ask.

“I can’t go back yet. Not until I’ve calmed down a little at least.” Stelsa won’t meet your eyes. 

“I’m surprised you’re back from the office before me, don’t you have a run to go on or something?”

“I did my run” she tenses up. “Twice. Thought it might blow of some of…this.”

You sit down beside Stelsa and grab her hand. You always calm down really quickly when she rubs circles in the space between your thumb and forefinger, you’re hoping it’ll do the same for her. Instead she snatches her hand away and turns her back to you.

“Stelsa, there’s no point in you being here if you won’t let me do my thing. Give me your hand.”

“It feels patronizing when you do it”

“Then at least talk to me, please?”

Stelsa inhales sharply and flexes her claws. “I just don’t know why she thinks she can do this kind of thing to me! First she begs me to help her raise a grub, brings me into a highly illegal ring of revolutionaries, and now she’s suddenly telling me we have to break our enlistment and flee the ship or else we’re going to die in a few sweeps? She’s just making this up to mess with me at this point!”

You put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs you off again. You get up to make a pot of coffee. If she won’t open up to you physically, maybe a hot drink will help. God knows you need one right now.

“I just don’t understand her!” Stelsa’s got her head in her hands, voice projecting from across the block. “Tyzias spent so many sweeps working so hard to get to this point! We studied all day long for perigees before our exams, I just don’t get why she isn’t happy with the successful life she earned.”

“Are you happy?” You ask. “I mean, I’m grateful for the position I have, and I don’t hate the work I do, but I had a lot more fun swindling cash out of injured lowbloods on Alternia. It makes sense that she’s not happy.”

“Of course I’m happy!” Stelsa glares at you, scandalized. “How could I not be! I have the perfect job, I’m stationed with the people I love, we’re all safe and happy and perfect!”

She pauses for a moment. “Right? I mean, obviously we have to make sacrifices in adulthood, nothing will ever be as fun as being on Alternia, but that’s okay. We’re all safe, that’s all that matters.”

You sit back down next to her and hand her a mug of coffee. You offer her your small ornate cream pitcher, but she just takes the mug and starts sucking it down.

“I think you two just have completely different priorities” you reply. “When was the last time you two sat down and talked about… all this?”

She looks into her now empty mug. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”

“But she has no idea how much she’s hurting you. Maybe you should-” your palmhusk buzzes in your pocket. A video call from Tyzias. Stelsa hasn’t noticed yet, so you walk over to the culinaryblock to answer it.

“Well if it isn’t the all powerful Tetrarch” you smirk into the Grype window. Yes, you’ve been trying to work out Stelsa’s problems with Tyzias, but that doesn’t erase what happened between you and Tyzias yesterday. You might be trying to help Stelsa understand Tyzias’ perspective, but you sure as hell don’t get it either and it pisses you off in the best way possible.

“Not now sore-gor,” she bites back. “I need your help. Have you seen Stelsa? She never came home after you left, I’m getting worried.”

“Calm your heftsacks, she’s right here.” You point the camera at Stelsa on the loungeplank. She’s become visibly more irritated.

“Oh thank god. Can I talk to her?” You look over to Stelsa, hoping she’ll give a response.

“I’m not ready yet.” She grumbles. You shake your head at Tyzias.

“Well if she won’t talk to me then can she at least talk to Karkat? He misses her.” Stelsa seems to visibly perk up at the mention of Karkat. You tell Tyzias to hand the phone to him.

“Mama Stels!” The phone vibrates with his squeak. You swear you can hear his voice through the walls. “Where did you go? I was scared you got eaten by a drone!”

“Eaten by a-” Stelsa chuckles. “Tyzias needs to stop telling you those stories before bed. There are no drones on this ship, and drones don’t eat trolls in the first place.”

The two of them talk for a while, and Stelsa begins to genuinely smile for the first time all evening. Despite everything, she really does care for that kid.

“Mama Stels, I made a new friend today! Her name is kanaya and she talks really pretty!” Karkat starts rambling on. “Tomorrow she’s gonna show me her friend Vriska! Terezi says Vriska is a bitch but I can’t wait!”

“Karkat, no!” Stelsa scolds. “I told you, words like that are hurtful.”

“But that’s what Terezi said!” he pouts. “I was gonna meet her today, but she was busy with her kismis.”

Stelsa quirks an eyebrow at the camera. “Do you mean kismesis?” She asks.

“Yea! It’s like when two trolls hate each other, but it makes them want to kiss!” You catch Karkat bouncing up and down out of the corner of your eye.

“These trolls are your age, right? Isn’t this Vriska a little young to have a kismesis?”

“I dunno, I just think it’s cool. It’s like what Mama Tyz does with Uncle Gor-Gor.”

Your heart drops to your feet. Stelsa freezes, her calmed demeanor shattering.

“What does Mama Tyz do with Uncle Gor-Gor?”

“Yesterday they started yelling so much it made them kiss! It’s kinda weird.”

Stelsa sharply inhales, putting on the most forced grin you’ve ever seen. “Oh! Look at the time! Mama Stels has to go now!” She crows. “Don’t give Tyzias too much trouble at bedtime, I love you!”

She shuts the call off as soon as she can, turns to you, and pelts the phone in your direction, narrowly missing your horn and shattering one of the decorative tiles behind your sink. 

“You kissed my matesprit.” Stelsa is staring directly at you, pupils narrowed like a purrbeast. You stumble back a step, nearly tripping over the edge of a rug.

“You kissed my god damned matesprit! And here I was thinking you were the only person I could trust anymore!” She’s flexing her claws up and down, trying desperately to hold something back. You’ve never seen a troll go full on feral before, it’s not particularly common for teals, but it isn’t unheard of. It’s an instinct that lies underneath every single one of you, and Stelsa is clearly trying to keep it in.

“It’s okay Stelsa!” You keep backing up, bumping into the coffee table. “It’s a pitch thing, just like Karkat said. Neither of us are cheating on you!”

“I don’t care if it’s pitch, it’s not okay! Nothing is okay! I don’t know what to expect of anything anymore!” Each word she says makes her hair bristle on end a little more.

“Just calm down, we can work this out! Remember, we need to talk if we want to work through this stuff.” Your voice is starting to wobble a bit. Stelsa freezes in place, gaze sharpening even further.

“Don’t patronize me.”

Before you can take a breath yourself, she’s stormed out of the door, leaving you, slightly disheveled, in her wake. You take a moment to collect yourself and make your way over to the main epicenter of Stelsa’s destruction. Your palmhusk lies right next to the sink, surrounded by shattered porcelain. The corner that made the impact is covered in a spiderweb of cracks, but otherwise it works fine. You pick it up to find a barrage of messages from Tyzias.

lA: wwwwowwww, that wwwwas pretty abrupt, cant believe it only took that long for her to get sick of himmmm  
lA: holy shit wwwwhat the fuck is happening over there  
lA: i heard sommmmething shatter, are you okay  
lA: please tell mmmme you guys are okay  
bG: So our little fling yesterday might have just cost me my moirail. thanks a lot *_________  
lA: oh fuck  
bG: Also, you’re paying for my new phone *_________  
lA: wwwwhat happened?  
bG: Karkat told her about last night and she practically went full on feral. I’ve never seen her like that before! I don’t know where she went, but she stormed off  
*_________   
lA: should wwwwe go look for her? wwwwho knowwwws wwwwhat the ico could do if they find out shes been breaking shit?  
bG: she needs some space. I don’t think she’s gonna want to see either of us for a long time *_________

* * *

Your name is Stelsa Sezyat and you’ve never been so angry in your life! You’ve spent every waking hour trying to be grateful for what you have. Even when things have looked tough you’ve tried to focus on the good and sweep the bad under the rug. The rug isn’t big enough this time though, and neither is the supply closet you’re currently hiding in. You need a plan to get back at your quadrantmates. You whip out your palmhusk. 

pP: MALLEK SHUT OFF ALL THE CAMERAS BETWEEN SUPPLY CLOSET 3 AND DARAYAS CELL  
sB: whoa what what = going on? is daraya in danger?;  
pP: JUST DO IT, I NEED TO TALK TO HER  
sB: I usually only shut off the cameras for tyzias, = she okay? why = you asking me to do this instead of her?;  
pP: SHES FINE I NEED TO TALK TO DARAYA ALONE AND IF YOU TELL TYZIAS ABOUT THIS YOU WONT WANT TO KNOW WHATS COMING FOR YOU   
pP: I NEED TO TALK TO DARAYA ALONE AND IF YOU TELL TYZIAS ABOUT THIS YOU WONT WANT TO KNOW WHATS COMING FOR YOU  
sB: holy shit no! im not shutting off the system for you if you threaten me! I knew we never should have let a former loyalist in;  
pP: WAIT NO   
pP: IM SORRY IVE HAD A ROUGH COUPLE DAYS AND IM JUST A LITTLE ANGRY PLEASE LET ME TALK TO DARAYA SHES THE ONLY ONE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO ALLEVIATE THE ANGER   
sB: fine, fine, but please in the future no threats. I know youre used to that shit in your law world but we cant do that here;   
sB: we get enough threats from the government, we need to be able to trust each other entirely;  
sB: ill give you the go when the cameras = off; 

You dig around the closet for something to cover yourself with, settling on one of the black drapes they use for more theatrical trials. Mallek sends you the signal, and you take a breath. Tyzias kissed your moirail and stole him from you. You’re going to do the same to hers. 


End file.
